I've always liked tacos but when I became vegan, my affection for these simple-yet-gratifying handheld bundles of deliciousness really reached a whole new level. Before going vegan, I'd never really looked beyond meat and/or beans and/or cheese as fillings for tacos but now there is a whole realm of delectable possibilities to pile on a tortilla, fold in half, and shove in my mouth. With such a huge opportunity for creativity, vegan tacos have become a regular dinner rotation in our house.
When I heard about Jason Wyrick's newest book, Vegan Tacos, I knew I needed to have it. After reviewing it and trying one of the recipes (and dog-earing a bunch more to try), I have to admit: My mind is blown. I knew there was a wide range of possibilites when it comes to building a plant-based taco, but there are infinite combinations in this book. He provides recipes for several homemade tortillas and a wide range of salsas, guacamoles, and even vegan cheese. This is on top of the huge amount of taco recipes, some with multiple choices for fillings. He even gives "Make It Simple" directions for some of his more "involved" recipes, making it so you can skip the fancy stuff without sacrificing taste and have dinner on the table sooner. He also gives "Make It Low-Fat" tips for those trying to watch what they eat.
There are pictures all throughout the book, which I love. I would be remiss, however, if I didn't give props to my friends, Erin and Jeff, for shooting the gorgeous cover!
The recipe I tried was the Sonoran Tacos. It sounded tasty and I liked that the recipe gave me a choice of filling options- beans, portobello mushrooms, or seitan. I just so happened to have portobellos on hand as well as the required Anaheim peppers so it was meant to be. Plus, this recipe had the "Make It Simple" option and since I was exhausted that day, the word "Simple" was music to my ears. I used corn tortillas instead of flour and I didn't make the suggested salsa or queso (remember when I said I was exhausted?) but I did top it with avocado and Chris and I both thought the tacos were really great. They're not the prettiest to look at, but our tastebuds didn't care. And it was so easy, I could see myself making this recipe again and again.
From Vegan Tacos by Jason Wyrick. ©2014 Jason Wyrick. Used by permission from Vegan Heritage Press.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch strips
- 2 cups cooked pinto beans, rinsed, or 2 large portobello mushrooms, chopped into bite-size pieces, or 2 cups cubed seitan
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 4 Anaheim chiles or any long green chile, pan-roasted and cut into strips (pan-roast the chiles while you caramelize the onion)
- 8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
- Hot sauce of your choice
- Chopped avocado
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until well caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the skillet and return the skillet to the heat. Add the filling of your choice (either the beans, mushrooms, or seitan).
- Warm your tortillas. Add the filling, followed by the sliced roasted chiles, then the salsa, and a scattering of avocado.
- Instead of pan-roasting the chiles, just remove the stems and seeds and cut them into strips. Add the chiles, onion, the garlic, the filling, salt, pepper, and oil to the pan all at the same time. Turn the pan to a medium heat and cook this until the onion is lightly browned. It will take you about 10 to 15 minutes to get everything done, but you don’t have a bunch of different steps to take and you only need to stir the food every couple of minutes.
- You can cook the onions without adding any oil to the pan. Just sauté them over a medium high heat in a dry pan, stirring them every minute or so. Once they are browned, add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, give everything a quick stir, and then add your filling of choice, along with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the filling is done, about 2 minutes for the beans, 3 minutes for the mushrooms, and 3 minutes for the seitan.
- Turn a dry iron skillet or heavy pan to medium heat. Lay the chiles on the pan. When they blister on the bottom, flip them over and repeat until all sides are blistered. Peel the blistered skin away from the chiles and discard the stem and seeds.
Vegan Heritage Press has been kind enough to let me give away a copy of Vegan Tacos to one of my lovely readers! It is open to US and Canadian residents only and will run until 11:59pm on September 20th, 2014. Please use the box below to enter.
Thank you so much to Vegan Heritage Press and Jason Wyrick for letting me review this fantastic book. Thank you to all you marvelous readers who chose to stop by today. Have a beautiful day!
What are your favorite vegan taco fillings?
Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book to review but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.
Photography by Chris Miller
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Lentils and mushrooms for sure!
Aimee B.
My favorite taco fillings are avocado and pico de gallo.
Katie
I prefer taco bowls - laziness to the extreme, as when the mood for a taco hits I never have any corn tortillas ...
Ironically enough, I *hated* tacos until I went vegan - now I love them! If it has a nice kick, something chewy, something crunchy, and something cool, I'm guaranteed to love it. This recipe looks like it'll satisfy all criterion!
Kristina
I like slightly mashed lentils mixed with chopped toasted walnuts for some texture.
RBoesch
My favorite taco filling is a little more traditional.
I like filling my tacos with fresh corn that has been roasted, black beans, chopped tomatoes, avocado, and leafy greens.
Sophia
I guess I'm pretty unoriginal when it comes to tacos - my favorite filling is definitely heavily-spiced beans! Probably followed by mushrooms.
Alison L
Mushrooms, black beans and other veggies topped with vegan cheeze...yummy! If I am feeling really naughty (read: using something processed) I use the veggie crumbles and taco seasoning also topped with the vegan cheeze - it would be nice to have other options/inspirations!
Marie
I must say that your recipe of chickpeas and palm hearts revolutionized my tacos!
Ann Taylor
rainbow - sweet potato, black bean, kale.....delish!!
Beth Ann
chili lime seared tofu, guacamole, salsa and lettuce are delish!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen
These look delicious! I love love love tacos! So many possibilities. Looking forward to checking out this book!
Karen D
I like lentils in tacos, with lettuce & salsa and guacamole
Jacky
Seitan, corn, lime, and avocado!
Maryz
Portabella mushrooms, peppers and onions, salsa and guacamole.
Judith
spicy tofu
courtney
I love beans!
Shelley
My favorite vegan taco filling has to be taco-spiced lentils or beans with lots of roasted vegetables!
Erica C
roasted chickpeas!
Beth R.
I love chickpeas and marinated portobello mushrooms in tacos!
Abbe
I love mushrooms in tacos, and avocados, and onions, and tomatoes....and then I add cilantro for the flavor pop!
diana @ veggienextdoor
Black beans and avocados!
Becca
Lentil walnut taco meat!
A Goin
New to vegan tacos myself but loving the sound of all these ideas!
ali
beans.... with avocado and cashew crema!
Marie
I've never tried to make vegan tacos, but these look amazing.
Kris @ Plants & Pages
Sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and tempeh!
jacquie
black beans and mushrooms
saniel
Walnut nut meat, avocado, tomato and cashew cream
Bianca @ Sweet Dreaming
lentils!!
Lydia Claire
Beyond Meat and Daiya cheese with veggies, salsa, etc.
Laura
Lentils and mushrooms!!
Ali @ Farmers Market Vegan
Roasted veggies and "pulled pork" seitan!
Greg Allbee
Nothing too fancy I guess, usually just beans or lentils, some greens, salsa, mashed avocado. I have tried the Beyond Meat southwest-style chicken and it's really good. I've also used homemade seitan.
Laura
Homemade guacamole, seitan strips, roasted veggies, homemade refried beans, homemade queso & salsa.
Oh my...think I'm going to have tacos tonight!
Sophie
lentils, black beans and cilantro
Jessica Eagle
Thanks for this giveaway !!!
My favorite taco filling is lentil, some greens with a good salsa and avocado. Yummm !!!
Paige c
Jerk veggies and avocado!
stacey
Blackened Tempeh, Sautéed Cabbage and Salsa!
Sherry Grant
Quinoa and sautéed veggies
Nataliya M.
My favorite taco combo is sweet potato, quinoa, chickpeas, greens, avocado and vegan aoili!
Purnima
Black Beans.
natalie
I love the bean and cheese taco filling from keepin it kind and seasoned portobella "meat" is a close runner up.
Sue
Smoked Soy Curls, Roasted Garlic Spread with a crisp fresh Slaw on a crunchy hard shell.
Carolyn
I like lots of lettuce and fresh tomatoes on my tacos.
Jean
I love butternut squash, black beans and vegan cheez on my tacos
Megan
vegan queso, beans and sweet potatoes
jamee
still learning...love guacamole tho! i have hundreds of pounds to lose, and this book just might be of great help!
Alice
mushrooms, potatoes with gravy
charj
beans, seitan, soy curls, lettuce, avocado
Jennifer K
I like seitan as a taco filling
Tanya P
We love beans, switch them in tacos all the time 🙂
Nicollette D.
This is pretty boring, but I love black bean & sweet potato. I'm not sure it gets better.
Janel M.
I like it plain and simple--TVP, vegan cheese, lettuce, tomato
Thalia @ butter and brioche
Wow a whole cookbook dedicated to vegan tacos? Love it! Definitely going to be trying this delicious recipe.. thanks for sharing it!
Michelle
raw tacos lately with walnuts and cashew cream
Bridget
I love black beans, potatoes, guacamole, lots of salsa, and lettuce
Jessica
Lentils and/or tempeh with sautéed veggies and other beans. YuM!
Terri Cole
My favorite taco filling combo is: roasted sweet potatoes and poblanos, plus smoky black beans, topped with watermelon-mango salsa. YUM!
olivia
My favorite taco fillings are sauteed sweet potato, mushrooms and avocados. I would love to win this Vegan Taco book, thank you 🙂
Samantha Plotkin
Black and pinto beans with bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms!
Terri Stralow
I make a super good filling with baby bell mushrooms, chopped red onion, and yellow sweet pepper and a bit of jalapeno. sauté them up real good in a bit of olive oil. then add a bit of rice syrup, either a big tablespoon of tomato sauce or I use tomato powder with 1 T of water, plus ume plum vinegar, and a tad bit of salt. cook until it makes a sauce and kind of cooks down. takes maybe 15 minutes to make this.
Babette
My favorite taco filling is vegan sour cream with tofu, onions, peppers and lots of lettuce.
Irene
Favorite taco filling is definitely beans, pickled onion, and avocado. Yum!
Corrine
Beans, veg cheese, salsa, lettuce, avocado and more!
Amanda J.
Chickpeas roasted with taco seasoning!
Courtney
CILANTRO AVOCADO CHICKPEA SALAD TACOS--yum!
Laura
Tofu or Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips sauted with onions, green bells, and salsa verde, topped with avocado slices and cilantro. Yum!
Julia
Avocado, tomato, white onion, tofutti sour cream, yum!
Michelle
Um...probably just about anything- anything VEGAN : ) - that you would think to stuff inside a taco shell or tortilla: refried beans, whole beans, mushrooms, "fake" meat, tofu, other random veggies, rice... I'm not picky!
Ali
I love potato tacos with fresh salsa on top.
Annette
Avocados and onions are my favorite vegan taco fillings.
Sarah
Beans and bell peppers!
Naama Levy
My favorite is nopales, onion, potato and green peppers on corn tortillas.
Kait
Geek p/fangirl alert: when I looked quickly I thought this said "Sontaran tacos" and got so ridiculously excited because I thought someone made Doctor Who-inspired tacos and it was like the two greatest things ever.
Alas- I still plan on stuffing my face with these ASAP. And while watching DW. 😉